RESTON, Va., March 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NII Holdings,
Inc. [NASDAQ: NIHD] today announced that Nextel Brazil, its
wholly-owned operating subsidiary, entered into amendments to its
credit agreements with Banco do
Brazil and Caixa Econômica
Federal. Additionally, Nextel Brazil has secured waivers from each
of these lenders related to certain financial covenants in its
local bank loans.
The amendments provide, among other things, a 120-day standstill
period effective March 2, 2017,
during which time no amortization payments will be required with
respect to the related loans while Nextel Brazil seeks to negotiate
long-term modifications of the financing arrangements, including
potential further extensions of the existing amortization
relief.
Separately, the lenders have agreed to waive Nextel Brazil's
obligation to comply with a net debt to earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, ratio test, as
well as certain other covenants, as of December 31, 2016. The waivers also provide for a
"covenant holiday" inclusive of the June 30,
2017 testing period, during which time no compliance will be
required with respect to the net debt financial covenant. The next
measurement date for the net debt to EBITDA ratio test will be
December 31, 2017, at which point
Nextel Brazil must maintain a net debt to EBITDA ratio of no
greater than 2.5.
"We are pleased that our local lenders in Brazil recognize the significant progress we
have made in improving our operations and are supporting us by
granting covenant waivers and agreeing to a standstill
arrangement," said Dan Freiman,
Chief Financial Officer. "We will now work to negotiate long-term
modifications to the loan agreements to better align the terms with
our business."
About NII Holdings, Inc.
NII Holdings, Inc., a publicly held company based in
Reston, Virginia, is a provider of
differentiated mobile communication services for businesses and
high value consumers in Brazil.
NII Holdings, operating under the Nextel brand, offers fully
integrated wireless communication tools with digital cellular voice
services, data services and wireless Internet access. Visit the
Company's website at www.nii.com.
Nextel, the Nextel logo and Nextel Direct Connect are
trademarks and/or service marks of Nextel Communications,
Inc.
Visit NII Holdings' news room for news and to access our
markets' news centers: nii.com/newsroom.
Safe Harbor Statement
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. This news release includes
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the securities
laws. The statements in this news release regarding possible future
amendments to financing arrangements, the business and economic
outlook, and future performance, as well as other statements that
are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are estimates and projections reflecting
management's judgment based on currently available information and
involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those suggested by the
forward-looking statements. With respect to these
forward-looking statements, management has made assumptions
regarding, among other things, the Company's ability to fund the
business and meet its business plans, customer growth and
retention, pricing, network usage, operating costs, the timing of
various events, the economic and regulatory environment and the
foreign currency exchange rates that will prevail during 2017.
Future performance cannot be assured and actual results may differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Some
factors that could cause actual results to differ include the risks
and uncertainties relating to: our ability to reach agreement with
lenders on amendments to the terms of our financing arrangements,
the impact of liquidity constraints, including the inability to
access escrowed and pledged funds when expected, the impact of more
intense competitive conditions and changes in economic conditions
in Brazil, the performance of the
Company's networks, the Company's ability to provide services that
customers want or need, the ability of the Company to continue as a
going concern, the Company's ability to execute its business
plan, and the additional risks and uncertainties that are described
in NII Holdings' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2015, as well as in
other reports filed from time to time by NII Holdings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release speaks only
as of its date, and NII Holdings disclaims any duty to update the
information herein.
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SOURCE NII Holdings, Inc.